US President Donald Trump on Monday said that "much remains" to be agreed upon with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ahead of a highly anticipated phone call centring on a ceasefire in Ukraine. "Many elements of a final agreement have been agreed to, but much remains," Trump said. Trump confirmed on his Truth Social platform that he and Putin will speak on Tuesday morning about the proposal for a 30-day interim pause in fighting in the region. The Trump administration has been generally optimistic that it can secure Russian backing for the ceasefire agreement, which Ukraine has already agreed to. "We're going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace. And I think we'll be able to do it," Trump told reporters on Monday. Earlier on Monday, the US president said that Washington and Moscow had already discussed land, power plants, and "dividing up certain assets" between Russia and Ukraine as part of a deal. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that US and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. "There's a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion with the Ukrainians, and he will address it in his call with Putin tomorrow," Leavitt said on Monday. The power plant has been caught in the center of the crossfire since Moscow invaded and seized the facility shortly afterward — sparking alarm from international bodies that fighting around Europe's largest nuclear power plant could lead to a potential nuclear catastrophe. In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Putin of deliberately prolonging the war. "The implementation of this proposal could have begun long ago. Every day in wartime is a matter of human lives," Zelensky said. Putin so far said last week that although he agreed to the "idea" of a ceasefire, there were unanswered questions — such as the fate of Ukrainian soldiers in the region of Kursk — that needed to be discussed before Moscow could back the proposal. He has also raised questions about how a potential ceasefire could be monitored, and ruled out the idea of placing NATO peacekeeping troops to ensure peace. It is unclear how far advanced discussions into the ceasefire deal are, with Witkoff — who traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin last week — declining to answer specifics on the agreement in an interview with CNN. "I am really hopeful we are going to see some progress here," Witkoff said, suggesting that "the four regions" were of critical importance to discussions. The UK and France have encouraged Putin to agree to a deal. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Zelenskyy demonstrated the "courage" to accept a deal, declaring it was "up to Russia to prove that it truly wants peace." UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday after a call with international leaders that Putin should agree to a ceasefire if he were "serious" about peace. "My feeling is that sooner or later Putin is going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussions," Starmer said. — Euronews
